If you love a good versatile recipe you can have as a main meal, an appetizer, or a filling, the Puerto Rican Shredded Chicken is for you! The best part is that it is done in less than 30 minutes.
If you want an easy, delicious chicken recipe, make this Puerto Rican Shredded Chicken. This is juicy, flavorful chicken.
But the real reason why I make this recipe is that it is the best weeknight recipe. You can make it on Sundays as meal prep, and use it differently the rest of the week.
You can have this as a main meal with a side of rice, mashed potatoes, or vegetables. Or use it to make a delicious chicken sandwich. But I like to use the chicken as stuffing for my appetizer savory cones.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
With this chicken recipe, you can make many Puerto Rican recipes like:
- Salad: Use as a protein for a Puerto Rican chicken salad.
- Appetizer: Puerto Rican empanadas.
- Main meal: ground beef pastelon, just swap the meat.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken thighs- I always use chicken thighs when making a shredded chicken. You can also use chicken breast. But I prefer the thighs because they’re the juiciest part of the chicken. It is easier to make dry chicken breast than dry thighs. Plus, thighs are cheaper than breasts. If you use chicken breast, you can follow the same cooking steps.
- Puerto Rican base- To add the Puerto Rican flavor, we use sofrito, sazon adobo, and tomato sauce. The sofrito adds a lot of flavor because it is a mix of blended vegetables. The adobo with the sazon adds flavor and color. The tomato sauce is always a must, but you can use tomato paste instead.
- Seasonings- We add chicken bouillon and oregano.
- Vegetables- Here I used a piece of green and red paper and half of an onion, but you can remove any of them if you like. You can also add more vegetables if you like.
- Garlic paste- The garlic adds a lot of flavor. I always prefer using fresh garlic whenever possible. This is because I feel it tastes better than the garlic in a jar.
- Oil- I used vegetable oil, but you can use your preferred oil or even butter, which would add flavor.
How to Make Puerto Rican Shredded Chicken
- Photo 1: First, peel and chop the onion into small cubes. Do the same with the peppers and any of the veggies you add. If you cut the vegetables into small pieces, they will cook super tender. If you cut them into bigger chunks, they will still have a crunch after cooking.
- Photo 2: I always like to remove all the excess fat that the thighs bring. But if you don’t mind that extra fat, you can leave it on.
- Photo 3: Season the chicken. If you use your hands, keep in mind that the sazon will stain your hands an orangy color. So wash them up quickly after mixing the chicken.
- Photo 4: Then, in a big pan, we add the oil so we can sear the chicken for 12 minutes. This is over high heat so the chicken can get a nice sear. Just flip them once so they can sear evenly.
- Photo 5: Add the sofrito, tomato sauce, garlic, and vegetables. Mix everything and cook for another 8 minutes while covered, just lower the heat to medium-high. This is where the chicken will cook on the inside.
- Photo 6: Let the chicken cool and then shred it. Serve your chicken immediately, or you can store and freeze it to use later.
Recipe Tips
- If you want to make this recipe but don’t want to prep the ingredients, you can always buy pre-chopped veggies from the supermarket, but they can be on the pricy side.
- You can also use a supermarket rotisserie chicken, shred it, and just cook it with the Puerto Rican base and veggies. Cook for 8 minutes, and you have the easy shredded chicken version.
More Chicken Recipes
💬 If you enjoyed this Puerto Rican Shredded Chicken recipe, give it a 5-star rating and leave a comment or question below.
Watch us on YouTube or follow along on our Facebook Page, on Instagram, or on Pinterest.
Puerto Rican Shredded Chicken (Pollo Desmenuzado)
The Puerto Rican Shredded Chicken is a great recipe to make and save the rest for other recipes. Is shredded chicken with lots of flavor!
Ingredients
- ½ small yellow onion
- ¼ small green pepper (30g)
- ¼ small red pepper (30g)
- 1 pound boneless chicken thighs (492g)
- ½ teaspoon adobo
- 1 ½ teaspoon sazon
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon
- ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon crushed oregano
- 1 tablespoon sofrito
- 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Peel the onion and cut into small cubes that are about ¼ inch thick. Do the same with the peppers and cut them into small cubes. This is just a rough chop, no need to be exact. Set them to the side for later.
- Take the chicken and remove any excess fat the thighs may have. Add the chicken to a bowl and add the adobo, sazon, chicken bouillon, oregano, and garlic paste. Mix until all the chicken is seasoned.
- In a medium-sized pan, add the oil over high heat. Add the chicken and sear for 12 minutes. Flip the chicken a couple of times to brown evenly.
- Reduce your heat to medium-high. Make space in the middle and add the vegetables, sofrito, and tomato sauce. Stir and finish cooking covered for 8 minutes.
- If you have a chicken shredder, you can shred the chicken right away. If not, let the chicken cool to the touch and then pull it apart.
- Serve the shredded chicken, and don't forget to add all the cooked vegetables on top. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- I used chicken thighs because they’re the juiciest cut of the chicken and hold more heat, but you can use chicken breast.
Nutrition
Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 272mg | Potassium: 199mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 246IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Leave A Comment Below!
Leave a Comment